Firefighters from four stations are on the scene of an active fire at 44-46 Park Hill Road this morning.
In a post on X, the Cambridge Fire Department says it is conducting a search and doing an interior fire attack at the abandoned building on the corner of Park Hill and Market Street.
Platoon Chief Mark Jones was on the scene following the fire and told CambridgeToday that it appears squatters have been living inside the vacant building.
"We strongly think that people were living here," said Jones. "We have an investigator here now and she will be looking into what caused the fire."
There were no injuries reported and no one was in the building at the time of the fire.
The property is the subject of a development proposal in which the city has issued a notice of intention to designate the building a heritage structure to prevent it from being demolished. A consultant for the owner is scheduled to appear before council tonight to voice objection to the city's move.
The owner of the corner property wants to build a three-storey mixed use apartment building with 10 units and says the building has little to no heritage or cultural value and has been neglected beyond repair.
Cambridge Firefighters from 4 stations are conducting searches and interior fire attack at a working fire abandoned house at 46 Parkhill Road. No injuries reported at this time. Avoid the area. @cityofcambridge @CPFFALocal499 @Chief_RMartin pic.twitter.com/xKitDtlwoN
— Cambridge Fire Dept (@CambridgeFD) March 5, 2024
The building is down the road from 25 Park Hill Road West, where an arson investigation is underway following a fire on Feb. 25.
Jones notes that each fire is currently being looked at as a separate event unless new information proves otherwise.
